Anoraks Assemble

Night of the Big Heat is a 1967 sci-fi horror film directed by Terence Fisher.

The basic premise of the film is simple. A small island off the British coast is experiencing a mysterious heatwave, despite the fact that everywhere else it is wintertime.

In the middle of this we find married couple Jeff and Frankie, (played by real-life couple Patrick Allen and Sarah Lawson). Jeff, an author, hires a secretary who just happens to be a woman he once had an affair with.

So far so Love Island, but enter Christopher Lee, looking as furious as ever, as a mysterious scientist who spends his time setting up cameras and taking soil samples. Clearly he knows what is going on, but he is not telling.

Suddenly, people start hearing a mysterious humming sound and end up dying in bizarre circumstances. The townsfolk, along with Peter Cushing in a cameo role (who, incidentally, never takes his jacket off, despite the 90 degree temperature), must band together to try and stop what we soon discover is an alien menace.

The whole premise of ‘something mysterious running amok on a remote island’ is a familiar one. Indeed, Planet Films Productions’ earlier Island of Terror is very similar to this story.

I think the problem with Night of the Big Heat lies in the love triangle between Jeff, Frankie, and Angela (who spends a lot of time in her bikini and rubbing ice cubes on her chest – I mean, whatever floats your boat, okay). It slows the story down and I cannot shake the feeling that the alien invasion is a minor inconvenience to Jeff, who would much rather be getting his leg over.

Still, the cast is decent. Patrick Allen and his booming voice are very commanding, and Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are as dependable as ever. The remainder of the cast is filled out with familiar British character actors, such as Percy Herbert, William Lucas and Kenneth Cope, and they all offer good support.

As happens so often, the female characters are poorly served. They simply exist to look pretty, have men fall in love with them, and scream a lot.

Different times, I guess, but very frustrating all the same.

Night of the Big Heat isn’t one of the best, but it is perfectly fine and still worth 90 minutes of anyone’s time.